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‘2 Pianos’ lovingly captures
passion for the arts2 Pianos, 4 Hands: 8 p.m. daily through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. Sunday; Hawaii Theatre; tickets $15-$39 at the box office and military and TicketsPlus outlets. To charge by phone call 528-0506 or 526-4400.
By Ruth O Bingham
Special to the Star-BulletinAN anecdote tells of a woman running up to pianist Arthur Rubinstein after a concert, gushing, "Oh, Mr. Rubinstein, you play so beautifully! I'd give my life to play like that!" And Rubinstein answers, "I have, ma'am, I have."
In the witty, wistfully funny "2 Pianos, 4 Hands" that opened at Hawaii Theatre last night, authors Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt focus on two pianists (themselves, really) who don't "make it," following them from early lessons, through exams, competitions and auditions, to artistic crises and their final mid-life reflections on what could have been, what might have been, if, perhaps, they had given their lives.
"Thea" Dykstra and "Rachel" Greenblatt, played respectively by the very talented Shari Saunders and Karen Woolridge, struggle with whether the "years and years of practicing" are justified, with what it means to attempt greatness, and with how to face one's own shortcomings.
"2 Pianos, 4 Hands" captures universally familiar, painful conflicts inherent in pursuing performing arts. Do you choose good grades or practice time? If you want to enjoy life, does that mean you're not committed? Is it worth all the pain and sacrifice only if you achieve greatness?
And if you fail greatness, what went wrong? Were you not talented enough? Not disciplined enough? Not confident enough?
Performed in 90 minutes without intermission, "2 Pianos" is conveyed through clever, deceptively simple designs for the set by Steve Lucas and for lighting by Paul Mathiesen. Two large gilt rectangles, front- and back-lit with colored lights and silhouettes, direct the audience's attention, establish moods and settings, introduce additional characters and, most importantly, frame the vignettes. Two grand pianos dominate the frames, as they do Thea's and Rachel's lives.
Much of the drama takes place through music, Saunders and Woolridge trading phrases, comments, and jokes in notes as often as words. It helps to have at least passing familiarity with both classical and popular music.
But the success of "2 Pianos" rests primarily on the two, and only two, performers, who have not only to act a variety of characters, but play more than passable piano. Saunders and Woolridge are precisely what the play demands: good pianists who didn't make it into the ranks of "the greats." Through a demanding score of classical, pop and jazz, they created sympathetic and believable characters of a variety of ages and nationalities. They shifted deftly between characters without losing a line. Compelling performers with dynamite rapport, Saunders and Woolridge delivered excellent entertainment.
"2 Pianos" is structured like a rondo, the first movement of Bach's D Minor Concerto appearing at the beginning, middle, and finally in its entirety at the end, underpinning the characters' development and capping the drama. The end is the only part I would have changed: the concerto's length interrupts the drama's pacing and Bach's style highlights why the two characters never became concert pianists.
After all those "years and years of practicing," Thea and Rachel are not two of the best piano players in the world, in the country, or even in the city, but they are "two of the best piano players in the neighborhood." And that, when all is said and done, is something.
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